Laura made landfall overnight along the Louisiana coast as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane is still doing damage inland as a Category 3 system as of early this morning with winds well over 100 mph. The worst of the impacts are expected in and around Lake Charles, LA, where 125+mph gusts are possible as well as 8-12″ of rain. Storm surge could reach as high as 20 feet in coastal areas, which would be catastrophic. The storm will continue north through Louisiana and Arkansas today, bringing high winds, tornados, and a high flash flood threat before weakening under hurricane thresholds. The system will track eastward through the weekend toward the Mid Atlantic.

-Meteorologist Brett Thackara